


Confessions in a Starbucks Parking Lot

by fuckin_fudge_nutter



Category: The Mandalorian (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Aroace Din Djarin, Aromantic Din Djarin, Asexual Din Djarin, Coming Out, Gen, Lesbian Cara Dune, Soft Cara Dune, Soft Din Djarin, The Razor Crest is An Actual Honda Civic, look we need more aro din fics and i must do everything myself mustn't i
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-06
Updated: 2020-12-06
Packaged: 2021-03-09 21:07:42
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,214
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27922765
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fuckin_fudge_nutter/pseuds/fuckin_fudge_nutter
Summary: Din thinks he's broken. And yeah, he's only sixteen, but he thinks he knows himself well enough to tell when something's missing.--Aro Din high school AU
Relationships: Din Djarin & Cara Dune
Comments: 14
Kudos: 113





	Confessions in a Starbucks Parking Lot

**Author's Note:**

> Another aro Din fic! I can't let this go lol. Rated Teen for language.

Din startles when Cara slams his locker shut. He blinks at her.

“I was kind of in the middle of something—” he begins, but Cara cuts him off.

“Omera is in loooove with you,” she singsongs. Din blinks again. He loves Cara, he really does, they’ve been best friends since kindergarten, but she confuses him sometimes.

“That doesn’t make any sense,” he says, opening his locker again to get his bag. He slings it over his shoulder and carefully closes his locker so it doesn’t make a sound. Not that it matters, the hallway is packed, chatter bouncing off the walls and assailing Din’s ears. Cara leans on him, flinging her arm over his shoulder.

“Well, the gossip is that she likes you.”

“She can’t be in love with me,” Din says patiently. They’ve had this conversation before. “We’re sixteen. I doubt what she feels is anything more than puppy love or something.” He starts down the hallway, dodging around a pair of freshmen, and Cara follows.

“Besides,” he continues, “It’s not like any relationship we had would last long. High school sweethearts aren’t real.”

“C’mon,” Cara says. “You gotta like _somebody_.”

“I don’t.”

“Din,” she whines. “Everybody gets crushes. It’s nothing to be ashamed of.”

He lets out a huff of breath. “Well, I don’t.”

It comes out harsher than he means to, and he wishes he could take it back the instant it leaves his mouth when Cara takes a step away from him.

“If you say so,” Cara says, sounding hurt.

They walk in strained silence for a moment before Cara says, “I think she’s pretty cute, personally. Omera, I mean.”

“You think all girls are cute,” Din says, relieved to be back on solid ground, conversationally.

“They are!”

Din smiles. “Sure.”

Cara squeezes his shoulder. “I have to get to class. You wanna hang out after school?”

“Yeah.”

“Cool,” Cara says. “See you later!”

Din watches her shoulder her way down the crowded hall for a moment before continuing on his way.

\----

Din finds Cara in the parking lot after school, sitting on the hood of his battered Honda Civic. She has a Monster in her hand, and she’s swinging the can back and forth, staring aimlessly at the ground. Din rounds the car, snatches the can from her hand, pours it out on the ground, and tosses it in through the open car window.

Cara whistles. “Nice shot. But, dude, I paid for that.”

“How many times have I told you to stop drinking that garbage?” he asks her. “It’s terrible for you.”

“Whatever, Dad.” Cara hops off the car and gets into the passenger seat. Din rolls her eyes and gets in after her. He pulls his car keys from his bag before tossing it into the back seat. He sticks them into the ignition but doesn’t start the car, instead sitting back and looking at Cara.

“What do you wanna do?” he asks.

“Whatever,” she says breezily.

“How about we go to the park?” Din says. “It’s nice out and I have some homework to do.”

“Sure,” Cara says. “Can we stop at Starbucks on the way though?”

Din looks over at her. She grins broadly at him, swinging her legs like a child. He sighs.

“Yeah, sure.”

Cara pumps her fist. “Yes!”

Din rolls his eyes and starts the car. He pulls out of the school parking lot and onto the main road. He drives for a few minutes before he realizes Cara is being strangely quiet. He glances over at her. She’s looking at him with an odd expression on her face.

“You okay?” Din asks.

She bites her lip. “Yeah… I just, um, kinda wanted to apologize about this morning.”

Din furrows his brow. An apology from Cara is a rare thing. “For what?”

“For pushing you about Omera. I’m sorry if I made you uncomfortable.”

Din grips the steering wheel, staring straight ahead. “It’s okay.”

“It’s not,” she says. “I pushed you when you didn’t want to talk.” She pauses. “I can tell it’s bothering you.”

Din sighs. Cara’s right. It _is_ bothering him; he just doesn’t want to think about it.

“Sometimes I wonder if there’s something wrong with me,” he says quietly. He almost stops there, but something keeps him talking. “I hear you and everybody talking about crushes, and dating, and sex, and—and everything.” Din takes a breath. “And it makes me feel kind of, well, broken.”

Cara doesn’t say anything, so he continues. “Because I don’t feel that. Any of it. And I haven’t ever. And I say to myself, y’know, I tell myself that I’m just a late bloomer, and that those feelings will come along eventually, but as I get older it gets harder and harder to convince myself.”

Din finally looks over at Cara, and she smiles at him, reaching out to put her hand on his thigh. He lets out a breath he hadn’t know he was holding, some of the tension seeping out of his body. He looks back at the road, but puts a hand on top of Cara’s.

“Thank you for telling me,” she says softly. Din hears her swallow several times, and she opens her mouth and then closes it again, like she’s searching for the right words.

Din pulls into the Starbucks parking lot and parks the car, but doesn’t get out.

“I did some research,” Cara says finally. “At lunch today, after our conversation about Omera.” She pauses, playing with his hand. “And I don’t want to force a label on you or anything, but from what you’ve told me, I think you might be something called aromantic and asexual.”

“What is that?” Din asks.

“It’s when someone doesn’t feel romantic or sexual attraction,” Cara says.

“Oh.”

For several moments neither of them speak, Din turning the words over and over in his head. Aromantic. Asexual. They feel right. They fit. Maybe… he’s not messed up after all. Maybe he’s not some fuck-up. Maybe he _does_ belong here. Maybe he’s not broken, just… a different kind of whole.

“Yeah,” he says finally. “I think… I think I’m that.” He swallows. “Aromantic and asexual.”

Cara grins at him. “Does this mean I can ask Omera out?”

Din laughs. “Sure.”

Cara whoops. She reaches across the car and hugs him, tight, and Din buries his face in her shoulder. His face feels wet, and he realizes he’s crying. He looks up and realizes Cara is, too.

They stay that way, tangled awkwardly together in the front seat of his car, for a few perfect moments before they break apart.

Cara wipes at her eyes, still smiling at Din. “Can’t believe you made me cry.”

Din chokes out a laugh. “Occupational hazard of being my best friend.”

Cara punches his shoulder. “Ugh.” She scrubs at her eyes one more time before opening her door.

“I can’t take any more of this soppy shit. Let’s go get our goddamn coffee,” she says before getting out of the car. Din laughs and follows her, wiping at his own eyes. As they cross the parking lot, Cara slings her arm over his shoulders, pulling Din close.

“Hey Cara?” he says softly as they approach the door.

“Yeah?”

“I love you.”

“Love you too, idiot.”

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading! Comments are always appreciated! My tumblr is @fuckin-fudge-nutter, and my sideblog is @aromantic-din-djarin


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